India’s Virat Kohli
These included his 183 against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup while chasing 330, his 138 against South Africa in Chennai in 2015 and his 107 against Pakistan in the 2015 ODI World Cup. Kohli’s final selection also came at the expense of some outstanding centuries. The latter was particularly significant as it made him the first Indian batter to score a World Cup century against Pakistan.
The former India captain, who turned 38 on Thursday, was featured in a video shared by Star Sports in which he was asked to pick his greatest ODI innings. The interaction came a day after he produced an impressive 74 off just 51 balls against New Zealand. His first choice was his 35-run contribution in the 2011 ODI World Cup final against Sri Lanka. He preferred that knock over his unbeaten 133 against Sri Lanka in Hobart in 2012, when India chased down a target of 321 in just 40 overs. He also overlooked his 85 against Australia in the 2023 World Cup opener, an innings played when India were struggling at 2/3 while chasing 199. Kohli continued to back his World Cup final contribution when it was put up against his 122-run effort against England in 2017. That century came during a challenging chase of 351, with India reduced to 63/4. His unbeaten 160 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018, where he scored 100 runs through running between the wickets, also failed to make the cut. In T20 Internationals, he has scored 4,188 runs in 125 innings at an average of 48.69, including one century and 38 half-centuries.
He ranks third on the all-time run-scoring list in the format.
However, when asked to choose between his 35 in the 2011 World Cup final and his performance in the 2013 Champions Trophy final against England, Kohli eventually picked the latter. He also holds the distinction of being India’s most successful Test captain, having guided the team to 40 victories in 68 matches, with 17 defeats. Kohli has built an extraordinary collection of achievements during his international career. His trophy cabinet includes an ODI World Cup, a T20 World Cup, two Champions Trophy titles and two Indian Premier League (IPL) trophies.